Lizard Point(Cornish:Penn Lysardh) inCornwallis at the southern tip of theLizard Peninsula.It is situated half-a-mile (800 m) south ofLizard villagein thecivil parishofLandewednackand about 11 miles (18 km) southeast ofHelston.[1]
Lizard Point
| |
|---|---|
 Southernmost part of Lizard Point | |
  Lizard Point Location withinCornwall | |
| OS grid reference | SW695115 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HELSTON |
| Postcode district | TR12 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
Lizard Point is the most southerly point on mainland Great Britain at 49° 57' 30 "N.[2]With the exception of parts of theIsles of Scilly,it is thesouthernmost partof England and the wider United Kingdom.
History and geography
editLizard Point is for many ships the starting point of their ocean passage and a well known shipping hazard. TheLizard Lighthouseis situated at Lizard Point. Immediately below the lighthouse, situated in what used to be a hotel, is theYHALizardYouth Hostel.Lizard Point is situated withinCaerthillian to KennackSSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest), noted for itsbiologicalandgeologicalinterest.[3]Polpeor Cove is a small cove to the east of Lizard Point.[4]
The area is famous for its carvedserpentineitems,[5]which range from ornaments to the pump handles in the Five Pilchardspublic house,in Porthallow. Thegeology of Lizardis of particular interest, being interpreted as anophiolite,a piece of ocean floor, with a number of planned walks available from local tourist authorities to discover more about the local rocks.
The first sighting of theSpanish Armadaon mainlandBritainwas off Lizard Point at 3 pm on 29 July 1588.[6][7]
TheBattle at the Lizard,between the English and the French navies during theWar of the Spanish Succession,took place off The Lizard on 21 October 1707.[8][9]
Sinking ofArdgarry
editThe 1,074 gross ton bulkcoastercarrierMVArdgarry(1957) was lost in a heavy storm, in over 30 ft (9m) high waves, off Lizard Point on 29 December 1962. All 12 crewmen perished and were never found.[10]She was built byJames Lamont & Coat thePort Glasgowshipyard.[11][12]TheArdgarrywas carrying coal fromSwanseaand headed toRouenin France. Six of the crew were from Northern Ireland, five from Scotland, and one from Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.[13]Found again in 2006, the ship's bell was recovered, and a memorial service was held by family members in August 2008.[14]
Bugaled Breizhsinking
editOn 15 January 2004 the French fishing trawlerBugaled Breizh(child ofBrittany) sank off Lizard Point with the loss of five lives. There were claims at the time by French marine accident experts that the vessel may have been pulled under when her nets became entangled in a British or Dutch submarine which was conductingNATOexercises in the area at the time.[15]
Lifeboat service
edit
TheRoyal National Lifeboat Institution(RNLI) operates The Lizard lifeboat station at Kilcobben Cove,[16][17]two miles (3 km) northeast of Lizard Point. ATyneclasslifeboat is housed in a large boathouse at the base of the cliff. The station features afunicularline to transport lifeboat crews from the boathouse to the clifftop station car park.
The biggest rescue in the RNLI's history was 17 March 1907 when the 12,000 tonne linerSSSuevichit the Maenheere Reef near Lizard Point. In a strong gale and dense fog RNLI lifeboat volunteers rescued 456 passengers, including seventy babies. Crews fromThe Lizard,Cadgwith,CoverackandPorthlevenrowed out repeatedly for sixteen hours to rescue all of the people on board. Sixsilver RNLI medalswere later awarded, two toSueviccrew members.[18]
See also
edit
- Land's End,westernmost point of mainland England
- Marshall Meadows Bay,northernmost point of England
- Ness Point,easternmost point of England
References
edit- ^Ordnance Survey, Great Britain (February 2009), "Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203",Land's End,ISBN978-0-319-23148-7
- ^Chambers's Encyclopædia of Universal Knowledge.W & R Chambers Ltd.1860. p. 62.
- ^"Caerthillian to Kennack"(PDF).Natural England.1993.Retrieved18 November2011.
- ^Ordnance SurveyLandranger Series of Great Britain; Land's End, The Lizard & The Isles of Scilly, sheet 203.1983
- ^Dickens, Charles (9 September 1854). "Cornish Stone".Household Words: A Weekly Journal.10(233): 96.
- ^Lovett, A. W. (1986).Early Habsburg Spain, 1517–1598.Oxford University Press. p.184.ISBN978-0-19-822139-5.
- ^Fry, Plantagenet Somerset (1990).The Kings & Queens of England & Scotland.Grove Press. p.108.ISBN978-0-8021-1386-3.
- ^Stewart, William (2009).Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present.McFarland. p. 112.ISBN978-0-7864-3809-9.
- ^Grant, R. G. (2011).Battle at Sea: 3,000 Years of Naval Warfare.New York City: Penguin. p. 149.ISBN978-0-7566-5701-7.
- ^"5 Saved in Ship Fire: 2 Vessels Missing with 22",Chicago Tribune,p. 1, 5 January 1963
- ^mv ARDGARRY,Clydeships.co.uk
- ^Lloyd's register of shipping: Register book. Register of ships, Volume 2,1958, p. 71
- ^"A voyage of discovery: Belfast brothers in quest to trace relatives of shipmates who perished with their dead",Belfast Telegraph,6 January 2008
- ^Family memorial to lost sailors,BBC News, 10 August 2008
- ^French trawler Bugaled Breizh 'was sunk by sub',BBC News, 24 March 2005
- ^"Lifeboat Station: The Lizard".RNLI.org.uk.Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2011.Retrieved4 December2011.
- ^"The story of our station".The Lizard Lifeboat.Retrieved4 December2011.
- ^Biggest RNLI rescue is remembered,BBC News, 11 March 2007